Reply To: Short & Sweet

Tzav: Take Out The Garbage

One of the most intriguing types of עבודה that a כהן did was the תרומת הדשן, which was essentially the cleaning up of the ashes of all the Korbanos that had been brought that day. The Torah even emphasizes that this must be done in the full dress uniform of the בגדי כהונה. Why is this necessary?

The Abarbanel explains that there is a danger in doing the עבודה. A כהן can easily fall into the trap of focusing only on his own honor in this very public role, instead of on increasing כבוד שמים as he should.

The כהן is therefore instructed to put on his special בגדי כהונה, and essentially mop the floor. This will teach him not to focus on his own honor, but rather on the importance of the job that he is doing – carrying out Hashem’s will.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום